These past couple weeks have been all about reading. This past week, we celebrated several special events that revolved around reading. We honored the birthday of Dr. Seuss by welcoming two guest readers from Mariner High School on Thursday. The two students read The Cat in the Hat Returns to our students. Furthermore, on Friday, we read All The Thinks You Can Think! Friday was also Read Across America Day. Students across America took as many AR tests as they could on March 2. Mr. Garrard, our librarian, reported that as of 12:25pm on Friday afternoon, 1,088 AR quizzes were passed at Discovery!
Last, students who qualified for the AR pizza party enjoyed pizza, soda, and a movie for their lunch on Friday. See below to read about the contest we are having for the month of March!
Reading & Writing
We have been reviewing and learning more about how to summarize text. In class, we practiced writing summaries together. Then, students got the opportunity to practice writing summaries on their own. Summary writing is an important skill for students to learn to show that they understand the main ideas and events in stories. This helps students comprehend the author's message. Furthermore, summary writing is important for the MSP, DRA, and other reading assessments.
Students read short stories in small groups and then wrote summaries together on poster paper. Below, you can see two pictures of students working on this.
In the month of March, we will be having another reading contest. Students who earn 10 AR points between March 1 and March 30 will be able to attend a root beer float and cookie party! The party will take place at lunchtime on March 30.
Ten students qualified for the pizza party that we had on Friday. I am hoping that ALL students make the March root beer float party! If your child is reading 25 minutes each night, 10 AR points will be easy to earn. Please continue to help your child remember to read daily.
Math
Our smart students will be taking the trimester 2 math test next week! They will also be taking the unit 9 math test at the end of next week or early the following week. We have learned so much!
Students should be continuing to memorize their multiplication and division facts at home. Thank you, parents, for helping your children study. I will continue to leave the link to the multiplication practice website at the bottom of each blog post.
Other math areas that you can help your child with include:
- parallel/perpendicular lines
- arrays
- drawing pictures of multiplication and division problems
- story problems involving multiplication and division
- two-digit times one-digit multiplication
Science
Our physics of sound unit is drawing to a close! Students have had a lot of fun participating in activities and experiments to explore how sound is made and received. Our third graders know all about vibrations, sound discrimination, volume, pitch, tone, etc.
Students most enjoyed playing with the musical instruments featured in this unit. Perhaps this will encourage our students to learn how to play an instrument in the coming years!
Jumprope Assembly
Mrs. Murray, our PE teacher, held a jumprope assembly for the third graders at Discovery on Friday! Jumping rope is an excellent activity that gets heart rates up and keeps children in shape. All of our students did an excellent job participating. Thanks for facilitating that event, Mrs. Murray!
- Please sign your child's Homework Sheet every day. Most students have been coming to school with their signatures, but several are forgetting! Thank you for your help!
- Please contact me if you are interested in providing root beer, cream sodas, ice cream, and/or cookies for the AR party on March 30.
- This website provides a great link where students can practice flash cards online: http://www.factmonster.com/math/flashcards.html
Important Dates
March 2 - Early dismissal at 12:45, AR pizza party
March 16 - Early dismissal at 12:45
March 30 - Early dismissal at 12:45
"You have got to discover you, what you do, and trust it." --Barbara Streisand
Sincerely,
